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ANNEMIEK LECLAIRE
ILLUSTRATIONS
TAKU BANNAI
life is just to be alive’, from British
philosopher Alan Watts. Bennett Vogt
calls this peaceful moment of being your
place of patience, where you will find what
you need.LIGHTER LIFE
After Slowing down came Simplifying, the
most important part of the course for me. I
was already on track with ‘attentive
cleaning of your house’, and ‘sensing’(becoming aware of your senses to enjoy
the moment) is also something I’m already
able to do. But simplifying things has
always been a hard one for me. I think and
see and want so many things. Until I
learned to ask a key question, and now I
still ask myself this a dozen times a day:
How can I simplify this situation? It can be
applied to everything, whether it’s what topack for a trip, how to prepare food for my
guests, or how to start writing an article.
There is great beauty in simplicity. It makes
life lighter.
Another sentence that did me a lot of
good, from the time management lesson,
was: I’m going to take the time for this.
Instead of always feeling like I’m running
behind. I thought, for example, when I was
going to write this piece: Okay, I’m going to
sit down for this. As a result, I took time, on
my own terms, instead of chasing time,
begging for a few more minutes.
Will I end the year having achieved a
totally easy life? Not at all. It will take more
than just one course. But these are small
and valuable steps, that Bennett Vogt calls
the ‘slow-drip method’: a few minutes of
practice a day automatically changes into
more minutes, perhaps an hour or an
afternoon. ‘It promotes a calmer nervous
system,’ she writes, ‘a calmer mind, more
comfort, more light, more pleasure.’
What I also learned is that I have to
constantly repeat these exercises to make
them effective, otherwise I will forget them
in the crazy merry-go-round of everyday
life. ‘That’s right,’ Bennett Vogt confirms
when I ask her about that. ‘The bad news is
that the clearing up process never ends.
But that’s also the good news. I think
clearing up the things and thoughts that
don’t serve us is a journey to cherish, not a
linear task that needs to be completed
before a certain date. Clearing our heart,
head and house over and over again is a
wonderful exercise that teaches us time
and again who we are inside.’ I can totally
recommend it.WANT TO READ MORE?
‘A Year to Clear: A
Daily Guide to Creating
Spaciousness in Your
Home and Heart’ by
Stephanie Bennett Vogt‘CLEARING UP
THE THINGS
AND THOUGHTS
THAT DON’T SERVE
US IS A JOURNEY
TO CHERISH’